Coronavirus restrictions are being relaxed in Sydney from Friday morning, with masks no longer mandatory in shops and more people allowed at gatherings.
Residents must still wear a mask on public transport, at places of worship and in hairdressers, beauticians and gaming rooms.
Up to 30 visitors will be allowed to enter a home and up to 50 people can gather outside.
Weddings and funerals will be allowed 300 people, abiding by the four square metre rule.
However, dancing is still banned except for 20 people nominated by the bride.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian also flagged that hospitality venues would be able to host one person per two square metres in two weeks, but the four square metre rule remains for now.
Health authorities say a decision will be reached on Thursday on whether to resume a travel bubble with New Zealand that allows people to enter Australia without quarantining.
Department of Health Secretary Brendan Murphy has spoken of the “great uncertainties” when it comes to COVID-19 and the vaccines as it is yet unknown whether Australians will require more vaccinations as the virus continues to mutate.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Michael Kidd has also spoken about the need to keep a closer eye on future variants of the virus to ensure herd immunity is reached and maintained.
“The results of the research and the clinical trials to date show both the Pfizer vaccine and the AstraZeneca vaccine…both appear to provide high levels of protection against the variants of concern which have appeared," Mr Kidd said.
“We are following this very, very closely, obviously as new variants appear, particularly new variants which are shown to be more transmissible and at risk of causing even greater numbers of people to be infected in an outbreak.”
It was hoped to have 4 million Australians vaccinated by March, however due to the rollout delay, t
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Australia is seeking more information from New Zealand health authorities before restarting quarantine-free travel after two fresh coronavirus infections.
A 72-hour pause on the one-way travel bubble is due to end at 2pm on Thursday, but a decision on whether to extend it could come down to the wire.
Two people who completed hotel isolation in New Zealand have returned positive results despite earlier twice testing negative and completing their 14-day quarantine.
Australia s Acting Chief Health Officer Michael Kidd said more information about the new cases was needed before a decision on travel arrangements would be made.